Tell Me About the Ukulele

The Ukulele Group is a really friendly group, which meets up to have fun. We achieve this by playing our ukuleles and singing along for all we are worth. It doesn’t matter one bit how well we play or sing, we just love having a go.

The group first met in August 2014 with three attendees. Eighteen months later there are about 15 of us, comprising roughly of an equal number of women and men. Some of us have been playing for more than a year, but some have only been playing a matter of months or weeks.

The ukulele itself is a super instrument. It is easy to play, and you do not need to be able to read music. Within a very short space of time you can be capable of playing literally hundreds of songs.

Although there are many variations, there are only four principle types of ukulele (Soprano, Concert, Tenor and Baritone), based on size. The Soprano is the shortest in length – small, light, manageable and comparatively cheap to buy. Next is the Concert, which is a bit bigger/longer. The Soprano and the Concert are the most popular with most groups, including ours.

A beginner will firstly learn how to play about 5 or 6 chords and ‘strum’ the strings in a simple fashion. As they become more adept, they learn a few more chord shapes and adopt different patterns when strumming. Later, they may learn how to ‘pick’ individual notes, picking and playing the melody line. However, many players are happy just to strum their ukes and leave any picking to those who can!

Ours is not a ‘taught’ session as we do not have a tutor, but we do try to help each other, and especially any beginners, with advice and tips about playing the ukulele.

We play all types of songs including pop, folk, pre-war ballads, country, music hall, gospel, rock ‘n’ roll and even some blues. We just enjoy it all.

We meet fortnightly, every other Tuesday afternoon from 2 to 4pm in the Methodist Church opposite the Market Hall on Northampton Road, Market Harborough.

If you think you might like to try the ukulele, you’ll be welcome to join us and a spare ukulele is available. Just get in touch and we’ll take it from there.